The Last Ship sets sail for York Theatre Royal

The Last Ship, the acclaimed musical by the internationally renowned musician Sting, comes to York Theatre Royal from 25th to 30th June as part of a UK premiere tour.

When Gideon Fletcher returns home after 17 years at sea, tensions between past and future flare in both his family and his town. The local shipyard, around which the community has always revolved, is closing and no-one knows what will come next, only that a half-built ship towers over the terraces.

With the engine fired and pistons in motion, picket lines are drawn as foreman Jackie White and his wife Peggy fight to hold their community together in the face of the gathering storm.

The personal, political and passionate new musical, which was initially inspired by multiple Grammy Award winner Sting’s 1991 album The Soul Cages and his own childhood experiences, tells the story of a community amid the demise of the shipbuilding industry in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, with the closure of the town’s Swan Hunter shipyard.

The show is directed by Lorne Campbell, artistic director of Northern Stage, with set design by the Tony Award-winning 59 Productions, the team behind the video design for the 2012 London Olympic Games.